Women's Soccer Opens Conference Play on Sunday
9/24/2008 9:45:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Bluejay Season Leaders
Category Leader Number
Goals Gans 8
Assists Fyles 3
Gans 3
Gunther 3
Zapapas 3
Points Gans 19
Saves Casey 50
GAA Casey 1.16
About the Jays
The 7-3-0 Creighton women's soccer team is a mix of youth and experience. The squad, which had a record of 11-8-2, is coming off a 2007 MVC Tournament Championship.
Leading the team in scoring are two of the team's three preseason all-MVC selections (Marcy Gans and Lindsay Vaught). Gans leads the team and MVC with eight goals and 19 points and Mary Zapapas is second with seven points (2 G, 3 A). Vaught (2 G, 2 A) is tied with Shawn Magrum for third with six points (2 G, 2 A). Kristen Casey, who was the first Bluejay to play every minute of the season in goal last season, leads the team in wins with seven.
The team is hoping to make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for just the second time in program history.
Last Week Recap
Last weekend Creighton went 2-0-0 in two home matches. On Friday the Bluejays defeated Stephen F. Austin, 2-0, before defeating Northern Illinois, Sunday, 3-1.
In Friday's game against Stephen F. Austin, the Bluejays used a second half surge to pull away from the Ladyjacks, scoring twice in the final 35 minutes. Shawn Magrum scored in front of the net off a Lindsay Vaught corner in the 55th minute to give Creighton a 1-0 advantage. The Bluejays finished the scoring in the 62nd minute as Marcy Gans scored off a corner from Mary Zapapas.
In Sunday's game against Northern Illinois, Gans had a hat trick to lead the Bluejays over the Huskies. All three goals for Gans came in the first half, just seven and a half minutes apart. Her first came in the 12th minute off a Macy Mauer cross in front of the goal. Her second came in the 17th minuteon a free kick as she put it past the goalkeeper's reach. Her final goal of the day came in the 20th minute as Magrum headed a Zapapas corner to Gans who was waiting on the back post to put it in.
Good Start
With Sunday's win against Northern Illinois, Creighton moved to 7-3-0 on the season. It marks the first time since 2001 the Bluejays have won seven of their first 10 matches. In 2001, the team also started 7-3-0.
Nationally Ranked
With her performance on Sunday, Marcy Gans now has 19 points on the year (8 G, 3 A). The mark puts her among the top players in the nation in both categories. She is ranked 26th in points per game with 1.90, and 28th in goals per game with 0.80 in the NCAA.
Her performance on Sunday was the 17th best in the country this season, scoring six points in the game.
Record Breaker
On Sunday Marcy Gans had a hat trick to lead the Bluejays to a 3-1 win over Northern Illinois. With her performance, Gans moved up the leaderboard in many Creighton records. Below are the records Gans moved up:
Three goals and six points are the most scored by a Bluejay in a game at Morrison Stadium.
Gans' 16 points at home on the season are the highest single-season mark at Morrison Stadium. Gans had the two previous records of 14 and 13 set the last two years, while her seven goals on the season are the most scored at home in a single season. Gans had scored six and five goals, respectively, the last two years.
She is second in Bluejay history in career points (76) and goals (31).
Her six multiple-goal career matches put her in a tie for second on the Bluejay career list.
Back Atop the Valley
After two weeks behind Evansville, Creighton finished the non-conference season with the best winning percentage in the Missouri Valley Conference, entering conference play this week. The Blujeays are 7-3-0, percentage points (.700) above Evansville who is 5-2-2 (.667).
Almost There
With his next win, Creighton head coach Bruce Erickson will have 100 victories with the Bluejays. Erickson, who has built the Bluejay women's soccer program into an annual MVC contender is in his 10th season at the helm of the Bluejays. Over that time Erickson is 99-79-18. For his career he is a combined 169-140-24 in 17 years.
Conference Starter
This Sunday, the Bluejays will open conference play at home against Drake at noon. Creighton will be looking to continue its recent trend of winning its conference home opener. In their last 10 conference home openers, the Bluejays are 8-0-2, and 6-2-2 in their last 10 conference openers overall.
Conference Champs
Creighton has prevailed as the Missouri Valley Conference Champions in four of the last six years, by virtue of winning the conference tournament. Besides having success in the conference tournament, the Bluejays have also been successful in the regular season as well. Since 2000, Creighton is 30-15-7 against conference foes in the regular season.
Helping Hand
Junior Mary Zapapas had three assists on the weekend, in helping the Bluejays to go 2-0. With her three assists, including two on Sunday, she set personal career highs while at Creighton for most assists in a season (3) and most assists in a single game (2).
Cornerstone
In the second half Friday against Stephen F. Austin, Creighton launched eight corner kicks, giving the team 11 corners for the game. It was the most corners taken by the Bluejays this season, who lead the Missouri Valley Conference in that category with 5.80 corners per game.
Alumni Weekend
Sunday's game against Drake will feature numerous matchups against former high school classmates. Four Bluejays went to school with Drake players including Kristen Casey, Claire Zach, Tessa McKeone and Erin Gunther.
Casey who went to Westside High School in Omaha is a fellow alum with Drake freshman Lauren Berner.
Zach and McKeone each went to Marion High School in Omaha, the same school another Drake freshman, Maggie Olson did.
Erin Gunther who is from Longmont Colo. went to Silver Creek High School, the same as Drake freshman Danielle Figliola.
Three is a Lucky Number
Sunday's 3-1 win over Northern Illinois marked the fourth time this season Creighton has scored three times in a game, surpassing the number of three-goal matches from last season (3). The game also marked the 30th straight time that the Bluejays have been victorious when scoring three or more goals. In program history, the team is 104-2-2 in those situations, a .972 winning percentage.
Defending Your Home Turf
The Bluejays are currently in the middle of a four-game homestand. Morrison Stadium has been friendly to Creighton, where the team is 12-1-1 in its last 14 contests. The span is the best since Morrison Stadium opened in 2003. Creighton's all-time best home span is a 21-1-1 record from Oct. 4, 1992 - Sept. 10, 1995.
Program Leaders
Last weekend seniors Kristen Casey and Marcy Gans added to their impressive Creighton careers. They rank among the all time leaders in many categories in program history. Below are their career rankings.
Kristen Casey
Category Rank Number
Goals Against Avg. 2nd 1.12
Saves 4th 209
Goalkeeper Minutes 5th 4416
Goalkeeping Victories 5th 24
Shutouts 5th 15
Marcy Gans
Category Rank Number
Goals 2nd 31
Points 2nd 76
Multiple Goal Games T-2nd 6
Shots on Goal 5th 100
Gans is Gold
Marcy Gans scored goals in both games last weekend. Dating back to last season the Bluejays are 17-2-1 when Gans scores a point and 1-9-1 when she doesn't.
Still the One
With Sunday's 3-1 win over Northern Illinois, Creighton continued its good record when scoring at least one goal. In the last 33 games they've scored at least one goal, the Bluejays are 25-5-3, an .803 win percentage.
Program Milestone
With the Bluejays' 2-0 win over Stephen F. Austin last Friday, they reached the 200 win mark in program history. Here's a look at how the team has evolved through its history.
Win No. Record to No. of Matches 50 50-35-5 90
100 50-34-3 87
150 50-47-5 102
200 50-34-13 97
Season High
Senior Lindsay Vaught was Creighton's high point scorer on Sept. 12 earning a goal and an assist in the Bluejays 3-1 victory over Portland State. Vaught has six points for the year (2 G, 1 A) surpassing her total from last season when she had four points (1 G, 2 A).
MVC Players of the Week
This season Creighton has had four players named Offensive or Defensive MVC Players of the Week. That is second in the league only to Evansville, who has had five players receive weekly honors. There has been either a Creighton or Evansville player named every week.
On Aug. 25 Kristen Casey was named MVC Defensive Player of the week as well as MVC Scholar Athlete of the Week., for her work in goal in the first two games, going 2-0-0.
On Sept. 2 Marcy Gans received MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors, as well as MVC Scholar Athlete of the Week honors for her efforts against North Dakota State and UC Riverside, scoring two goals and an assist.
On Sept. 15 Lindsay Vaught earned MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts against Portland State, scoring a goal and an assist.
On Sept. 22 Marcy Gans was named MVC Offensive Player of the Week for her work against Stephen F. Austin and Northern Illinois, scoring four goals, including a hat trick against Northern Illinois.
Continued Success
For Marcy Gans, setting records is nothing new. Last year, her 13 goals and 29 total points were the most by a Bluejay since 1998. Gans also became the first player in league history to earn MVC tournament MVP honors twice in her career.
Morrison Record Setter
Last Sunday, senior Marcy Gans set a Morrison Stadium single season record for points scored with 16. Gans broke her own record after setting the original mark with 14 last year. Below are all of Gans' Morrison Stadium Records.
Single Game Record Number
Goals 3
Points 6
Single Season Record
Goals 7
Points 16
Shots on Goal 18
Total Shots 47
Career Record Number
Goals 20
Points 47
Shots on Goal 59
Total Shots 134
Morrison Record Setter Part 2
This season senior goalkeeper Kristen Casey has added more records to an already impressive career at Morrison Stadium. Last Friday against Stephen F. Austin, Casey posted her 15th career shutout overall, and her 13th career shutout at Morrison Stadium. Below are her Morrison Stadium Records
Single Game Record Number
Saves 9
Single Season Record
Victories 7
Minutes Played 920
Career Record Number
Shutouts 13
Victories 18
Saves 97
Career High
After scoring two goals in the season opener against South Dakota, senior Nicole DeLue tied her career high for goals in a season, when she scored two in 2006. On Aug. 24 against South Dakota State, DeLue added an assist to tie her career high for total points in a season with five.
Another Career High
Junior Mary Zapapas was the only Bluejay to score a goal in both games the first weekend (Aug. 22-24). Her two goals are a season high during her time at Creighton. Prior to joining the Bluejays, Zapapas scored 11 goals and had 4 assists in 2006 at Middle Tennessee.
Welcome Newcomers
This season Creighton features the most freshmen on its team since 2001. The 2008 Bluejays will have 12 college rookies, matching the 2001 squad which also featured a dozen.
All Valley Performers
On Aug. 19, the Missouri Valley Conference released its preseason poll, Creighton was picked to finish in first place, receiving four first place votes.
Individually, the Bluejays tied Evansville and Missouri State for tops in the league with three preseason All-MVC selections. Making the team were sophomore midfielder Emily Orbell, senior forward Marcy Gans and senior midfielder/forward Lindsay Vaught.
Fifth Time's the Charm?
After reaching the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last six years last season by virtue of winning the MVC Tournament, the Bluejays will be looking this year to post their first NCAA Tournament victory. Last year Creighton fell 3-0 to eventual National Champion USC.
A trip to the NCAA Tournament this year, would be just the second time in the program's history that the team has made the tournament in back to back seasons (2004-05).
National Pride
The Bluejays will be without the services of junior defender Eden Hingwing this season. Hingwing is redshirting the season to train and play for the Canadian National Team in the U-20 World Cup (Nov. 19- Dec. 7).
What's in a Name
Last season, the Bluejays had three sisters on the team in Ally, Katy and Anne Peetz. This season the team has a new set of sisters as senior Marcy Gans and freshman Ariel Rank continue the family tradition.
Scouting Drake
(1-5-1)
Start ?Em Young
With the Bulldogs losing seven seniors last season, inclduing their top two leading scorers, Nikki Thaden and Sarah Foote, Drake has had to rely on its freshmen to provide a spark so far this season.
The team has 10 freshmen this fall, including the second leading scorer with three points in Danielle Figliola (1 G, 1 A).
Take Your Best Shot
A problem for the Bulldogs this season has been the disparity in shots between them and their opponents. For the season Drake has been outshot 130-66, an average of 19-10 per game.
